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Siege of Birmingham Over; Mission Not Accomplished

Reports by Rev. Carlton Veazey and The Rev. Dr. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale (below)

The siege of Birmingham is over. The women's clinic that was targeted stayed open and the "Operation Save America" fanatics went home, mission not accomplished. RCRC's religious voice was heard, grounded in centuries of a tradition of social justice.
RCRC supporters helped in many ways, with prayers, donations, and Peaceful Presence at the clinic. Thank you for bearing witness at Alabama Reproductive Freedom Summer so we never forget the lives lost in violence against clinics, women, healthcare providers, and our democratic way of life.

The clinic that was targeted, New Woman All Women Health Care Clinic, has become a symbol of resistance to domestic terrorism. It was the site of an "Army of God" bombing in 1998 that killed a security guard and left Emily Lyons, a clinic nurse, partially blind, burned, scarred, and unable to return to her profession of nursing. Emily was forever changed, from a quiet person raised to be seen but not heard to a tough survivor who will not be intimidated. The clinic owner also refuses to be silenced. She displayed the door that was blown off its hinges in the blast. You can still see the blood splattered on the door. The clinic owner put a sign on it that said, "You did this."

RCRC supporters from Massachusetts, Maryland, Georgia, and New Mexico answered our call to go to Birmingham. Our "Pro-Faith Pro-Family Pro-Choice" placards and buttons were everywhere. Clergy for Choice member Rev. C. Joshua Villines, former Board chair The Rev. Dr. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, and Colleen Bowers of Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Options spoke at the rallies and the interfaith forum.

All of our volunteers helped to protect the clinic and the patients and to show that religious people care deeply about the lives of women.

Seminarian Ashley Reynolds, who organized RCRC folks in Birmingham, told us that she felt she was on holy ground at the clinic. While the demonstrators shouted angry slogans in the name of religion, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice spoke for dignity and justice.

On-the-Ground Report from Birmingham
By The Rev. Dr. Katherine Ragsdale
You might have heard about what's going on in Alabama, but the media coverage has been largely biased, if there's any at all, and I want to make sure that our story is told.

Can you imagine going to your doctor's office and navigating through a crowd of 150 protesters screaming at you? Let's mix in the shouts of "baby killer" and other verbal attacks with the amplification of bagpipes playing.

What if the doctor's office had volunteers using umbrellas to shield patients from the mob scene and shouting as they traveled to and from their cars?

That's what was happening outside the New Women All Women Health Clinic, where I arrived last week as a representative for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. Operation Save America targeted this clinic and another one in Alabama as part of its ongoing intimidation and violence campaign against a woman's right to choose.

The clinic in Birmingham holds a harrowing place in the history of violence against women's clinics. It was the site of a bombing in 1998 by convicted felon Eric Rudolph that killed a security guard and maimed Emily Lyons, a clinic nurse.

The same clinic director who rebuilt the center after the bombing is still here—she and her staff are made of steel, equaled only by the kindness and compassion they show the women for whom they provide care. But you can imagine the tension that's here when the last time they faced such an onslaught of protests a bomb went off and someone died.

There's even a new message the protesters are hurling at women entering the clinic.

They are telling women that "men have hurt them" and that they shouldn't "kill their baby." These shouts are degrading—they insinuate that women have no control over their reasoning. This language puts men at the center of the decision instead of the courageous women who are looking for the healthcare or counseling that is right for them. It raises the tension and fuels the anger.

These shouts go on, even though there is a court injunction and local ordinance against using amplification outside the clinic.

Local law enforcement didn't enforce this noise ordinance Thursday, hence the bagpipes, but I witnessed a bunch of police officers trying to enforce it Friday, while the anti-choice protester screamed back at them about his "free speech" rights. He refused to comply, so they had no choice but to arrest him. Again, he's free to yell all he wants, but the law says no amplification.

This story isn't getting into the mainstream media, so please use your power to inform others about what happened in Alabama.

July 19, 2006

Operation 'Save America' Has History of Violence; Take Them Seriously!

Flip Benham's Gang Disrupts Jackson, Mississippi, Churches, Drives Into a Pro-Choice Guard; Five Arrested Outside Episcopal Church
Rowdy Anti-Abortion Group Intends to Close the Only Clinic in the State

This past weekend, Flip Benham's Operation Save America (OSA, formerly Operation Rescue) held loud and volatile protests outside a Unitarian Unitarian and an Episcopal church in Jackson, Mississippi. Five of Benham's gang were arrested for obstructing traffic, protesting in a residential neighborhood without a permit, and disorderly conduct, police said.

OSA is in Jackson in order to shut down the only clinic in that state that offers women a safe, legal way to terminate a pregnancy. It said it will continue its antics in Mississippi throughout the week.

Operation Save America has a history of violence and should be regarded as dangerous. At the Unitarian Universalist church on Sunday, an OSA operative tried to drive past a checkpoint set up to defend the church and hit one of the pro-choice guards. About 40 OSA operatives gathered across the street, with a loudspeaker, which a church spokesman said was disruptive to church-goers.

OSA's slogan in the past--when it spearheaded so-called "rescues"--was: "If you think that abortion is murder, act like it." Although OSA has disavowed violence and murder at clinics, its tactics contributed to an environment in which the murder of abortion doctors came to be seen by some as "justifiable homicide in defense of life." More recently, support for OSA has declined. Currently, the group is claiming it is the victim of anti-Christian sentiment.

The public and the police should take groups like this seriously. They create dangerous situations to achieve their ends and often attract unstable individuals who may be prone to violence.